Installing Node.js on Linux

The runtime required by all three AI coding tools

💡 Important

Claude Code, CodeX, and Gemini CLI all require Node.js 18+ to run. If you already have Node.js 18 or higher installed, you can skip this section. Verify with: node -v

Ubuntu/Debian

Using the NodeSource repository (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

# Verify the installation
node --version
npm --version

CentOS/RHEL

curl -fsSL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo bash -
sudo yum install -y nodejs

# Verify the installation
node --version
npm --version

Fedora

sudo dnf install -y nodejs npm

# Verify the installation
node --version
npm --version

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

# Verify the installation
node --version
npm --version

Using nvm (recommended for power users)

nvm lets you manage multiple Node.js versions:

# Install nvm
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

# Reload the shell configuration
source ~/.bashrc

# Install the Node.js LTS release
nvm install --lts

# Set it as the default version
nvm use --lts
nvm alias default node

Troubleshooting

Permission issues

If you hit permission issues, configure npm to use a directory in your home folder:

mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Version too old

If your distro ships an outdated Node.js, install the latest LTS via the NodeSource repository or nvm.

Next steps

✅ Environment ready!

You're now set to install Claude Code, CodeX, or Gemini CLI.

• Install Claude Code
• Install CodeX
• Install Gemini CLI